Multilateration-based needle tracking with 3D ultrasound imaging for guiding minimally invasive procedures

Objective.Ultrasound (US) is commonly used to guide minimally invasive procedures; however, its effectiveness is often limited by poor needle-tip visibility. This work presents a 3D US imaging and needle-tip tracking system based on US multilateration, toward real-time, safe and efficient guidance.Approach.The proposed system integrates a fiber-optic hydrophone within a medical needle to receive US transmissions from a sparse 2D matrix array probe used for 3D imaging. Chirp excitation was employed to improve the signal-to-noise ratio and enable robust time-of-arrival estimation. A multilateration algorithm was employed for needle-tip localization relative to the US probe, requiring fewer US elements and achieving substantially faster performance than existing methods.Main results.The system achieved spatial tracking accuracy of1.27±0.65 mm using only 13 active elements, representing an order-of-magnitude increase in tracking speed from 3.77 to 45.45 Hz compared to a conventional delay-and-sum-based tracking algorithm with 256 elements. The translational potential of the system was further demonstrated withex vivochicken tissue, and a clinically realistic femoral nerve block phantom.Significance.These results demonstrate the feasibility of a multilateration-based system that combines 3D anatomical visualization with needle tracking. With further improvements towards real-time operation and validation under clinically relevant conditions, this approach could improve the precision and safety of US-guided interventions.